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Kevin C. Cox / Associate Press
There’s plenty to think about in the wake of the Los Angeles Clippers’ 118-110 game opener against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.
Luka Doncic lost 42 points and nine assists in his first NBA playoff game. And spat 11 turnovers. And left the game, briefly, in the first quarter after suffering a left ankle injury, leaving an entire fan base – and viewers, really – in anguish.
Dallas and Los Angeles also traded double-digit leads … in the opening frame. And Michael Kidd-Gilchrist hit two –of them—Three pointers. And Kawhi Leonard exuded a particular control over the game, as only he can. And the Mavs caught fire deep in the first half.
And Montrezl Harrell made his debut in the bubble. And Doc Rivers questioned his team’s resolve even after allowing just 13 points in the third quarter to then deploy a bonkers formation – Harrell, Reggie Jackson, Patrick Beverley, Paul George, JaMychal Green – three minutes after the start of the fourth. .
Oh, and then there’s the result itself. The game was near. Mavs were scrapped until the time of the crisis. Maybe their actors can help Doncic later. Maybe Tim Hardaway Jr. spending so much time on PG13 isn’t as ridiculous as it sounds. Maybe Luka will be less exhausted and less upset.
Maybe, just maybe, the Mavs can make it a series – not just an exciting, good job-good effort five or six game game, but an actual series.
Game 1 could be about a number of things. And it’s. But above all it is about the expulsion of Kristaps Porzingis with less than three minutes of the third quarter of his debut in the playoffs. And it’s sort of, sort of, really horrible.
The coin on which Porzingis received his second tech did not initially include it. Doncic and Marcus Morris Sr. got into a little tangle after the whistle, uh, from being driven by the former. Tensions intensified slightly, that’s when Porzingis entered the fold:
Upon further examination, dual techniques were evaluated for Morris and Porzingis. It marked the second T of the game for the latter – his first came for an angry punch after a thunderbolt he didn’t like – so he was gone, with just over nine minutes to go. in third and Dallas leading Los Angeles by five:
The criticism from the referees was swift and relentless. LeBron James led the charge:
Likewise, the legend of the Mavs Dirk Nowitzki:
Kevin Love weighed in from outside the bubble:
Ditto for Spencer Dinwiddie:
Kansas City resident Patrick Mahomes didn’t like the officials’ decision very much:
Even Clippers head coach Doc Rivers was against:
Sentiment bordered on consensus.
Why send someone off in a hotly contested playoff game? And not just someone, but the Mavs second best player? To what amounts to less than a harmless draft?
Why let the outcome of a post-season tilt be even hypothetically impacted by a call, any call? Isn’t it on refs – in this case, Mark Ayotte, Eric Lewis and Kane Fitzgerald, who relayed the decision –show discretion? To be more in tune with the issues?
That Porzingis’ first technique was so questionable didn’t help matters. On the one hand, he had a point:
More than that, his reaction to that first call was miles deep. Hitting the air with no one nearby is completely harmless.
Yes, it’s still worth a technique by letter of the law. But the playoffs aren’t the time for hard-line enforcement … is it? They should be more interpretive, more flexible, more committed to making sure the basketball part of the program fully shapes the outcome … right? At the bare minimum, techniques are closer to last resort than implementations of formula … right?
The validity of the two technical aspects of Porzingis merits discussion. And the idea that this game was decided by his absence is terrible. He was a minus six and a 3 of 9 off the ground, but he absolutely had an impact. If nothing else, he still represents one of Doncic’s two best offensive outlets in the half-court and his unequivocal best pick-and-roll partner, especially when it comes to passing Ivica Zubac through. to the Dallas rush man.
On the other hand, Porzingis’ first technique was not a problem at the time of his second. He knew he already had one. He needs to be more aware of himself in this situation. He is too important for his team.
And please spare us the “He was just protecting Doncic” bias. It’s not false. He was involved on behalf of his teammate. But Doncic was not in imminent danger. The confrontation with Morris never risked turning into a fight. He and Doncic gave each other some great shots before play resumed.
That doesn’t let the referees get away with it, even in a game that seemed under referee. The Mavs had no phone calls to complain about. I would also like to take this opportunity to note that I feel like great men are never umpired properly. They’re supposed to take beatings and tolerate well-built human beings clinging to their arms and shoulders because they’re, well, tall.
However, Porzingis had to play under the circumstances of the moment. And by then, he already had a technique. And he knew, given the questionable nature of the first one, it wasn’t necessarily a game they’d let things go and that he couldn’t count on no-whistle makeup or the benefit of the doubt. .
Perhaps his motivations as a teammate were pure. His judgment was wrong.
It happens. The pangs of competition are intense. And again: this fight was essentially a non-fight. It didn’t justify the ax that was swung, and it certainly didn’t deserve to be the billboard for this game.
Kevin C. Cox / Associate Press
What comes next is … everything else. There is essentially an entire series left to play. And this moment, although pivotal for the game itself, cannot be considered a turning point.
The Mavs made other mistakes. Doncic took possession of its turnover, and although overloaded with attack, it must provide more resistance on the defense. Dallas enjoyed periods of cold filming from Los Angeles and questionable decision making by its cast, namely Beverley and Lou Williams.
It was a hell of a game, exciting and highly competitive almost in spite of itself. The Mavs were deprived of 15-20 minutes of All-Star play and, possibly, a win. It’s on to the next one anyway. Harping is useless, even if it turns out the refs screwed up. And to the credit of the Mavericks, they didn’t look like a team wallowing in this loss, unfair as it might sound.
Not that they have a choice.
Unless otherwise noted, stats are provided by NBA.com, Basketball Reference or Cleaning the Glass and current for Wednesday’s games. Salary and cap information via Basketball Insiders, Early Bird Rights and Spotrac.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and listen to his Hardwood strikes podcast, co-hosted by Adam Fromal from B / R.
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